The Burpee stork came through for me this weekend, and boy was I pleased to get this on my doorstep, this bright and beautiful weekend.

I opened the box, not really knowing what to expect and I saw this:

Probably a little hard to make out, but I opened the box to find four smaller boxes. I thought, how quaint! This is going to be like Russian Nesting Dolls. I saw air pockets on the sides of the big box, but no soil remnants, or anything like that. I was starting to wonder what kind of operation are they running anyway?

So I slid out one of the “pods” as they called it:

Still! No soil! How can there be tomatoes in these so called pods, without any dirt. I was a little worried. I knew the box was extremely too large for seeds, so I know they got that part of my order right.

On each of the pods, you have to take off a piece of tape, open it up…. to Voila!

Look at those beautiful babies! I couldn’t be more thrilled.

After opening up all the boxes, there are specific instructions you must follow to ensure your tomatoes are ready to go into the ground.

1. Don’t run out to your garden, like a crazed woman and dig holes with your bare hands, and put them in the ground. They need a little TLC.

2. Pull them gently, like the babies they are, out of their Burpee swaddling box.

3. Water each plant with 1-2 oz. of lukewarm water.

3. Pull out a baking sheet to place your tomato plant infants in. So the 1-2 oz of lukewarm water doesn’t spill all over the place!

4. Water each plant with 1-2 oz. of lukewarm water, with the plants sitting in the baking sheet. (see step 3)

5. Keep the infants out of direct sunlight for 24-48 hours, so they may regain their strength. Remember they had a long hard journey from the Burpee Stork.

6. Once they look hearty enough and your soil temp is just right (above 60° F), dig them each a nice deep hole. Make sure you go as deep as you can, only about 2 – 3″ of the tomato has to stick out of the soil. It will make for a stronger root system! Some folks, including myself put 3 – 4 egg shells in the hole for extra calcium! Great for the roots and fruit later on.

7. Mulch with straw (not Hay).

8. Water, water everywhere!

9. Tomatoes are on their way.

So – Here mine sit in the kitchen window, waiting for that special 60°F (stable) condition. Are they not the cutest babies you ever saw?

Around about July 4, I will be enjoying those deliciious fruits (please not in the Jonathan Swift, Modest Proposal way) on sandwiches, salads, sauces and salsas. Yummy!